Microchip Implants Linked to Tumors in Animal Tests
CBS is reporting that microchip implants have been linked to tumors. Studies have indicated that the chip implants "induced" malignant tumors in some lab mice and rats. The FDA has already approved microchips for humans and these studies were conducted before the FDA's approval. Unfortunately, these studies were not made public until now.
Reports indicate that 2,000 humans worldwide have already been chipped. Millions of pets have also been microchipped.
When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved implanting microchips in humans, the manufacturer said it would save lives, letting doctors scan the tiny transponders to access patients' medical records almost instantly. The FDA found "reasonable assurance" the device was safe, and a sub-agency even called it one of 2005's top "innovative technologies."
But neither the company nor the regulators publicly mentioned this: A series of veterinary and toxicology studies, dating to the mid-1990s, stated that chip implants had "induced" malignant tumors in some lab mice and rats.
"The transponders were the cause of the tumors," said Keith Johnson, a retired toxicologic pathologist, explaining in a phone interview the findings of a 1996 study he led at the Dow Chemical Co. in Midland, Mich.
Leading cancer specialists reviewed the research for The Associated Press and, while cautioning that animal test results do not necessarily apply to humans, said the findings troubled them. Some said they would not allow family members to receive implants, and all urged further research before the glass-encased transponders are widely implanted in people.
The CBS news story says the FDA is standing by its approval of the technology. You can read more about the chip tumor link on other blogs here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. Gizmodo notes that Tommy Thompson left the FDA just two weeks after VeriChip Corp's RFID chips were approved. Tommy Thompson is now on VeriChip Corp.'s board. TechDirt also makes note of this fact. Several other sources do as well although this post on Spychips.com says Thompson left VeriChip's board back in March.
VeriChip did issue a statement that says "Over the last 15 years, millions of dogs and cats have safely received an implantable microchip with limited or no reports of adverse health reactions from this life-saving product." VeriChip also argues that "laboratory mice and rats have a high probability of tumors at any injection site, regardless of the type of injection."
You can read our earlier post on microchips here. There was already confusion in the pet microchip marketplace because of a lack of a universal scanner. Now there is this news about a link to possible tumors to worry about as well.
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